[RCLers! A new league was opened that is drafting quick – tomorrow/Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST – and it’s Step Brothers themed! Join the league through this link here, and check out all the other RCL openings in our signup post. Can’t wait for this ish to start!]
Fight the powah! Although to keep going with the theme of that intro, I really need some hip hop help… I grew up in the suburbs, the son of two classical musicians! True story… Then I rebelled and became a metal head… Anyway, I need Grey over from baseball or Dan A to make this work!
Like our heavy doses of position eligibility at the wings, PF has guys all over the place, with the most players within my top-200. Wait, why isn’t Giannis a PF, he could technically play PF if he needed to! Dude is 7’0! He really should have the PG, SG, SF, PF, C eligibility… Hah! Luckily PF is still a very malleable enough position to do a few things with in your drafts, and it’s not until we get to C that it really starts locking up. Here’s the top PF for the 2016-17 fantasy basketball season, in tiers:
The “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do!” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kevin Durant, GS (27) | SF, PF | These top 4 are so razor close that I have some major chafing going on. I still expect Durant to be amazing, it’s just we have 4 amazing players. |
The “I feel weird about these tiers so far in PF, but I think this is the 2nd tier here!” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 6 | Anthony Davis, NO (23) | PF, C | If we knew Brow would play 75+ games I migggghhhht lean him over KAT, but we all know the risk. GET THE PELS NEW MEDICAL PEOPLE! |
| 3 | 11 | LeBron James, CLE (31) | SF, PF | I feel like his dominant playoff run is clouding some judgment, as the Cavs are gonna coast harder than Usian Bolt in Olympic qualifiers. No need to push Bron, and the Cavs end with 3 games in the H2H semis and 4 in the finals, with back-to-backs in both. Might only get 4-5 games the pivotal final two weeks. |
The “JFC, it feels like I’m gonna make a million tiers, but this feels like a tier dammit!” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 14 | Paul Millsap, ATL (31) | SF, PF | More perimeter touches with Dwight clogging the lane, such an underrated commodity. DOWN – I’m not THAT concerned, but he’s over 30 and just had a minor knee procedure. Gimme the PGs first. Will amend his spot in the Overall Ranks in the next few days |
| 5 | 16 | DeMarcus Cousins, SAC (26) | PF, C | Missed 40 games the past two seasons, FT% came crumbling down around a huge volume, and without Rondo, look for Boogie to turn it over like the good ol’ days as well. Not close to a first-rounder for me anymore. |
| 6 | 17 | Draymond Green, GS (26) | SF, PF | Takes a slight nudge down to the nards with the GSW Dream Team assemblage, but he should still be the same #Occupy we know and love, but could no longer bear children with… |
The “Are you getting annoyed with how many times you’ve read the word ‘tier’ in my titles yet?” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 23 | Kristaps Porzingis, NY (21) | PF, C | The Posion Goose! Only rookie to score more than 1,000 points, grab 500-plus rebounds, make 75-plus 3-pointers and block more than a 100 shots. USG may hurt next to Melo/Rose, but he’ll still get his, and get dem swats on top of everything. |
| 8 | 24 | Al Horford, BOS (30) | PF, C | The way B-Rad runs rotations, I’m a little worried about the minutes being 29-30. Slim has more faith. His game is suited for a long career, but I worry about some early Boston meshing as well. |
| 9 | 25 | Blake Griffin, LAC (27) | PF, C | Disaster 15-16, but BG is playing for a contract (he’ll likely get max either way, but ya know) and I think bounces back fine, as long as you’re not on the Clip staff and clown him at dinner. |
| 10 | 30 | LaMarcus Aldridge, SA (31) | PF, C | Slim dislikes Aldridge with a Patrick Patterson-esque fury, but LA was 9th in per-game last year the final 31 games, and scores with a big volume of great FG% with virtually no TO. Being on the old Spurs is annoying though… |
The “Like SF, this is where you target your stats in the mid-rounds, and maybe reach for some upside (cough, Jokic, cough!)…” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 32 | Gorgui Dieng, MIN (26) | PF, C | Choo Choo! Who’s with me on the hype train?! Through games 14-82 – 10.8/7.5/2.0/1.1/1.2 with 53.9% from the field and 82.6 FT%. That was only in 28:30 MPG and not starting half those games. I think Slim is a little light on the projection with upside to play huge minutes for Tibby Tibs. |
| 12 | 34 | Carmelo Anthony, NY (32) | SF, PF | With the facilitating ineptitude of Rose and coming off a career high in dimes, I could see Melo be a sneaky 5.0 AST source. We know scoring will be there with bleh peripheral stats, but me likey if his name value sours his ADP too much. |
| 13 | 35 | Kevin Love, CLE (27) | PF, C | Small steps up in per-minute stats, Love has gone from injury-plagued first rounder to low-upside mid-rounder. Might make your leaguemates fall asleep with this pick. |
| 14 | 36 | Serge Ibaka, ORL (26) | PF, C | Blocks dropping, turning into a jump shooter that is hurting FG%… He was clearly out of my top-50 pre-trade, but has some great upside for an expanded offensive role in ORL. |
| 15 | 37 | Derrick Favors, UTA (25) | PF, C | Favors would be 10 higher if not for back-to-back seasons with back-to-back spasms. Also the blocks didn’t come along like we thought… Love his game, hate the risk. |
| 16 | 38 | Chandler Parsons, MEM (27) | SF, PF | 19.0/5.9/3.1/1.1/0.3 with an unreal 2.6 treys on 51.9% FG shooting his last 26 games. Yes, two straight seasons ending with knee issues, but I believe in Memphis believing in him. By the transitive property, I therefore believe in Parsons. |
| 17 | 40 | Jae Crowder, BOS (26) | SF, PF | The Boston Clam Crowder! Sexy 1.7 swipes from a forward and I don’t see a way he could finish much worse than the 32nd per-game 15-16 he had. |
| 18 | 41 | Pau Gasol, SA (36) | PF, C | Old and Spurs, go together like hangovers and carnival rides. You just have to build in a lot of regression, especially in minutes, but he can still be top-50 serviceable. |
| 19 | 45 | Nikola Jokic, DEN (21) | PF, C | The love is starting to get strong for this one! In per-game/per-36 min stats, he was 13th in the NBA last year. And not like he played mop up minutes, he started a ton, just Mike Malone wouldn’t play him. Gives you a legit 9-cat impact, even though no one stat shines. |
| 20 | 47 | Nicolas Batum, CHA (27) | SF, PF | A tad more upside for Frenchy with Lin gone, but he had a career-high in TO last year and always struggles in FG%, so those hurt him a tad. |
| 21 | 48 | Nikola Vucevic, ORL (25) | PF, C | I thought I was going to be a smidge above consensus on Ibaka, but turns out I don’t want any part of the Magic frontcourt after all, especially Vuch. Any lapses on D, and Bis is gonna get the Business! |
| 22 | 49 | Nerlens Noel, PHI (22) | PF, C | Still the allure of 2/2 STL/BLK! Sixers keep saying one of the bigs will be gone – make a deal already! |
| 23 | 50 | Tobias Harris, ORL (24) | SF, PF | So underrated. After getting traded to Motown, the numbers all boosted up – better FG%, 3+ PPG, more FT volume, more 3s, and a much better AST:TO that went from 2.0:1.6 in ORL to 2.6:1.1 in D-town. Full off-season with his new crew, and this could be an awesome, metrics-friendly season. |
The “HUGE dropoff before you get to this weird mix of guys…” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 65 | Rudy Gay, SAC (30) | SF, PF | Gay only scores. Despite the real-life basketball metrics hating him though, he was 46th last year despite dropping from 3.7 to 1.7 dimes with Rondo hawgin’ it. No Rondo, mo’ dimes! But this is looking like a messier and messier divorce, with Gay publicly putting out there he’s opting out next year. Virtually any trade is going to hurt, plus he has to deal with internal strife for however long he plays in 16-17 with the Kings. |
| 25 | 70 | Myles Turner, IND (20) | PF, C | From game 41-82, i.e. the “legit” 2nd half of the season, he went 12.2/6.4/0.9/0.5/1.7 in 26.6 MPG, shooting 49.7% from the field, 73.9% from the stripe, and only committing 1.4 TO. Seasonal numbers get jacked up due to low minutes out of the gate and coming off the broken thumb prior to this run. |
| 26 | 73 | Dirk Nowizki, DAL (38) | PF, C | I’m glad I’m including ages, because that explains the only reason why The Gerimator is this low. He stands the test of time, but we’ll see if he can hold up another full NBA season. |
| 27 | 76 | Aaron Gordon, ORL (21) | SF, PF | Vogel – “I’ma use A-Gord like P-George!” Me – erection. |
| 28 | 77 | Robert Covington, PHI (25) | SF, PF | FG% remains a big issue, but his post-ASB got to 31:10 MPG with an absurd 3.3 treys and gorgeous 15.6/7.0/1.5/1.5/0.6 slash. Another strong fit for FG% punt. |
The “Big hodgepodge of junk, punts, and everything dunce” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 85 | Luol Deng, LAL (31) | SF, PF | 15.2/8.1/2.5/1.2/0.5 over the final 28 games, with 1.1 treys shooting 48.4% with only 1.4 TO. Yes – no Bosh – but it’s not like the Lakers have a murderers row up front. Another unsexy name that I think will fall too far. |
| 30 | 86 | Thaddeus Young, IND (28) | SF, PF | I think he’s going to be a little overdrafted, as his better numbers have come on awful PHI and BKN teams. I’m not quite sure how he’ll fit into the Pacers up-tempo system, as he’s likely the #5 option. |
| 31 | 90 | Ryan Anderson, HOU (28) | PF, C | Ryno, the ThraAGNOF bigman dyno! If you get 70 games of his 3PTM/C combo, you’re happy. |
| 32 | 91 | DeMarre Carroll, TOR (30) | SF, PF | In a limited sample due to injuries, 3PTM and STL were both career highs, At least all of his injury issues last year didn’t lead to some big surgery. I could see a nice big bounceback. |
| 33 | 95 | Joakim Noah, NYK (31) | PF, C | Goromotaro! I do like his upside for dimes continuing to play with Rose, but even if this is looking FANTASTIC through 20 games, I would sell immediately due to brittleness. |
| 34 | 97 | Greg Monroe, MIL (26) | PF, C | I have to rank him somewhere, although admittedly this hate might be going too far. I worry where he lands in an inevitable trade, as the Bucks hate him. |
| 35 | 98 | Justice Winslow, MIA (20) | SF, PF | I’m admittedly a little iffy with this rank, but the combo of 0.9 STL and only 1.2 TO as a rookie excites me, as well as an expanded role. FT% is a little bit of an issue, but I think he can surprise, especially if no Bosh. |
| 36 | 99 | Markieff Morris, WAS (27) | PF, C | FG% went WAY up even though he took more 3s, TO way down, and same STL/BLK after getting to the Wiz. Still only 27, with a full offseason with the new crew, there could be something here. |
| 37 | 100 | Jabari Parker, MIL (21) | SF, PF | An unreal 18.8/6.2/2.2/1.1/0.3 line over his last 29 games, which I originally felt was unrepeatable and blah without threes but… UP – Now no Duchess, so there’s a legit shot he could push for 20 PPG. With the added rebounds and still some youthful upside, I’m a buyer now. |
| 38 | 103 | Matt Barnes, SAC (36) | SF, PF | One of my favorite late round staples, Barnes follows Joerger – who apparently loves him – to SAC, where he is going to play both F positions. 1/1/1 3/STL/BLK gonna be tough to find any later! |
| 39 | 104 | Marcus Morris, DET (27) | SF, PF | Not flashy, but only has missed 3 games the last 3 seasons, and offers a nice well-rounded scoring boost. |
| 40 | 106 | Marvin Williams, CHA (30) | SF, PF | As metrics-whorey as it comes, with only 0.8 TO last year in a spread line. I don’t know if I buy 45+ FG% again or the 1.0 BLK though… |
| 41 | 107 | Jared Sullinger, TOR (24) | PF, C | The Raptors desperately need deep shooting from guys other than Lowry (and I guess Carroll), but at well under 30% from downtown in his career, I think it could get a little ugly, and I don’t think we see this huge 1+/1+ STL/BLK season either. |
| 42 | 109 | Dwight Howard, ATL (30) | PF, C | Obviously a fun FT punt asset if he lasts this long, but the TO issues, injury-proneness, and changing to another team worry me a smidge. I think the resurgence season last year was an anomaly to his career trends. |
| 43 | 112 | Clint Capela, HOU (22) | PF, C | More D’Antoniiiii! Obviously a must-draft for FT punters; for other builds, the upside in Boards-n-Blocks is capped a little due to the drain. |
The “Late round flier” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 121 | Mason Plumlee, POR (26) | PF, C | 4.8 dimes in the postseason, and shot 64.2% at the stripe which is a big step forward. Maybe he can be a sneaky C dimes source, and has played all 82 the past 2 years. |
| 45 | 124 | Zach Randolph, MEM (35) | PF, C | We know about what we’ll get, and he barely turns it over, for a PTS/REB source I would buy at this point. |
| 46 | 126 | Julius Randle, LAL (21) | PF | About as low-hyped as we could get for a guy who averaged a dubdub as a rook… FG% and lack of D stats hurt. |
| 47 | 128 | Nikola Mirotic, CHI (25) | SF, PF | I’d be much more intrigued if they didn’t bring in Wade squeezing out SF minutes as I don’t think he’s a great fit at PF due to defensive issues. |
| 48 | 130 | Bismack Biyombo, ORL (24) | PF, C | Not investing in the ORL frontcourt, but there’s obviously Boards-n-Blocks usability with your last pick or two here. Even if he’s coming off the bench, it should be for good minutes. |
| 49 | 134 | Amir Johnson, BOS (29) | PF, C | Sneaky punt-FT target with a great FG% and bad FTs. I was surprised to actually like Amir this year, but with no Sully, there isn’t heavy-hitting PF to really rival Amir’s role. Love dem D stats. |
| 50 | 135 | Michael Beasley, MIL (27) | SF, PF | In only 18 MPG, Beasley went 12.8/4.9 with a usable-enough 0.6/0.5 STL/BLK in his stint in Houston, I already liked him as a sleeper and then he gets traded to a BETTER situation! They obviously need scoring, but unfortunately he’s not a huge perimeter shooter, so I’m not sure exactly what his role will be. |
| 51 | 136 | Al Jefferson, CHA (31) | PF, C | Big Al has big tread on the big tires, but could easily go 11/6 with low TO for a backend big. But hopefully someone else in your league nabs him higher for name value 🙂 |
| 52 | 137 | Kenneth Faried, DEN (26) | PF, C | You’re probably hoping for a trade to be honest… Even in a low MPG role out of the gate if he’s still in DEN, I think there’s enough for early-season ownership. |
| 53 | 138 | Alex Len, PHO (23) | PF, C | Only gets ranked here due to upside – he was a trainwreck when a starter last year, and projected to still come behind grandpa Tyson. More a stash-and-hope. |
| 54 | 141 | Al-Farouq Aminu, POR (26) | SF, PF | I don’t buy that a guy had a FG% of 41.6 – right where it was last year – while going from 1.7 to 4.3 treys attempted. 36.1% from deep seems like an epic fluke to me, and his ups and downs make him too annoying to own for me to invest. |
| 55 | 144 | Taj Gibson, CHI (31) | PF, C | With Noah and Pau outta there, there’s a shot for 28-29 MPG with a 9/9 1.3 BLK sort of line, with a great FG%. Low end, but usable. |
| 56 | 149 | Jared Dudley, PHO (31) | SG, SF | Probably a forgotten name come draft day, but did go 10.1/3.9/2.7/1.2/0.2 over 39 games while Wiz had injuries, with 1.7 treys and shooting almost 50%. Has a chance to replicate that as the Suns starting SF or PF. |
| 57 | 152 | Cody Zeller, CHA (23) | PF, C | Even with Big Al replaced by a worthless Roy Hibbert, I don’t see a big climb in MPG. I think they swing Frank the Tank to some C minutes and Hawes might get some run there too. Volume is just too low to perk me up. |
| 58 | 154 | Omri Casspi, SAC (28) | SF, PF | A key FT punt target – Casspi hits 3s and shoots a good % while having a tough time at the stripe. A Gay trade locked in stone will boost him a good bit for me. |
| 59 | 155 | John Henson, MIL (25) | PF, C | Well, an OBVIOUS FT target, and a Monroe trade locked in stone boosts HIM up a bit! |
| 60 | 156 | JaMychal Green, MEM (26) | PF | I think this rank will be a surprise last-round flier, but he’ll be a backup last round target for me in 12ers, especially for the beginning of the year. The Grizz lack A TON of depth up front, and he had a 16 game stretch in March of 12.6/7.4/2.3/0.9/0.8 in under 29 MPG. On non-Gasol nights, he could easily do that. |
| 61 | 157 | Mirza Teletovic, MIL (31) | SF, PF | Was going to be a ThrAGNOF off the bench for the Bucks with a murky outlook for minutes; alas, Middleton is out most of the year, and the Bucks DESPERATELY need perimeter shooting. They’ll find a way to play Teletovic a good bit, but I’m not going too crazy… ThrAGNOF! |
| 62 | 159 | Bobby Portis, CHI (21) | PF, C | Shooting for the upside here – when unleashed the D stats didn’t come too strong, but he can hit FT and treys. Give him run, Rolo sucks! |
The “Undraftable in 12ers” Tier:
| PF RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 160 | Dragan Bender, PHO (18) | PF | Really struggled in Summer Ball, but I like him for the added SF opportunity with Tucker hurt. It’s so weird he’s 7+ feet and going to play SF… |
| 64 | 163 | Willie Cauley-Stein, SAC (23) | PF, C | 0.7/1.0 STL/BLK was AWESOME in 21:23 MPG last year, but 5.3 REB? And I don’t know if we see that MPG jump with Joerger saying Matt Barnes is gonna play some 4. |
| 65 | 164 | Terrence Jones, NO (24) | SF, PF | What’s a lot sexier than Brow/Asik? Brow/Tjones! But then Brow would get pounded by centers, and it would be the most brittle frontline in history… There is a rapport between the two from their Kentucky days, but it’s a pure spec final pick that might not have enough MPG to be usable out of the gate. |
| 66 | 165 | Tristan Thompson, CLE (25) | PF, C | You know what you get here – and I would’ve had him even lower if not for 82 games played the past 4 seasons – durable rock for deepers though! |
| 67 | 168 | Trey Lyles, UTA (21) | PF | Scored more than Nick Young at a rave club in Summer Ball! Hit treys (that’s his name!) and boarded, but anemic in AST/STL/BLK. Should be good instant O off the Jazz bench, but not seeing an ownable guy out of the gates in 12ers. |
| 68 | 175 | Dario Saric, PHI (22) | PF | More TO than AST in Euro play, so I’m not sure I buy the point-F hype, plus he’s a bench player… You never know what could happen with his upside, so he’s only a deep league flier… |
| 69 | 177 | Dwight Powell, DAL (25) | PF | Some talent here as well! 14.5/9.9/1.6/1.3/0.9 in per-36 minutes with only 1.5 TO, and should have a big expanded role with a new contract, and Carlisle saying as much. |
| 70 | 178 | Trevor Booker, BKN (28) | PF | PF in BKN is a mess. I think Scola could start, but the biggest upside I think is for the Bookworm. Didn’t have consistent fantasy production when given minutes last year, but can board, hit a trey, and provide a few D stats. |
| 71 | 179 | Ed Davis, POR (27) | PF, C | I’d like Big Ed more if I wasn’t a Plumlee buyer, but 0.7/0.9 STL/BLK and 7.4 boards is maybe replicable, although I could see a few less minutes if they expand Mason. |
| 72 | 181 | Brandan Wright, MEM (28) | PF, C | Gets a flier rank due to possible starts coming if Gasol misses any time or second legs of b2bs. Has injury issues of his own and can’t play a ton of minutes in a game, so even in non-Gasol games, upside is a little capped. |
| 73 | 186 | Jerami Grant, PHI (22) | SF, PF | Yes, the deck is heavily stacked against him, but 0.7/1.6 STL/BLK in only 26:50 last year! Might have a shot at usability if he gets the run/there’s a trade preseason. |
| 74 | 193 | Meyers Leonard, POR (24) | PF, C | Just does nothing in AST/STL/BLK and is a bench player. Meh. |
| 75 | 200 | Patrick Patterson, TOR (27) | PF, C | Mr. irrelevant! Although, he was about to be out of the ranks until The Duchess got hurt… Meh, we know what he is, blah stats but gets em across the board with low TO. |
| 76 ⇓ | ? | Ben Simmons, PHI (20) | SF, PF | Bad FG% and high TO – he proved that outlook in a small Summer Ball sample – but dimes from PF could be mad interesting. DOWN – I haven’t done my re-ranks yet, but I think he’ll stay in the top-200, barely, after recently breaking his foot. Terrible news for the Sixers, who aren’t catching any breaks during their “process”… |
